Patty Murray: “this past Sunday marked the 20-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. I could not be prouder of our servicemembers who…”

“this past Sunday marked the 20-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. I could not be prouder of our servicemembers who bravely have served our Nation overseas. I am deeply grateful for their service and their sacrifice, and I am committed to making sure we live up to our obligations to each and every one of them. As I have said many times, this is a war I never thought we should have started, and it is one we clearly should have ended long ago. I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to commemorate the anniversary of this war by officially ending this badly outdated war authorization at long last. I urge them to join me in taking the long- overdue step of reasserting Congress's authority in decisions about war and peace by voting to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force because when we send people to war, it should be a decision, not a status quo. The decision about whether or not to go to war and put the servicemembers' lives at risk is the most serious and most consequential issue we can debate here in the U.S. Senate. American lives, American security, and America's future are all at stake when our country decides questions of war and peace. When we first deliberated on whether to take action in Iraq, I wanted to know with absolute confidence we had done our due diligence before moving forward with the weighty decision to send our men and women into a dangerous conflict.…”